


night light

by badbadnotgood



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-13 22:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16481285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badbadnotgood/pseuds/badbadnotgood
Summary: “I thought you’d left,” Laurel says dumbly, immediately regretting it when she hears Michaela huff.





	night light

Laurel’s not sure if it’s the heaviness in her chest and irregular breathing or the empty space at the side of her where her arm is slung that wakes her up.

The empty space on the bed is still warm; the sheets thrown over Laurel’s side and the dents of a body still visible in the mattress and pillow. Laurel rolls over to that side on instinct. The pillow smells of Michaela’s conditioner, and something unpleasantly heavy settles in her because Michaela should be here and she’s not.

She blinks through the darkness and notices Michaela’s clothes folded neatly over the end bedstead just like they were when she changed into Laurel’s night clothes.

Laurel relaxes at the unmistakable running of a faucet. So, she stayed.

Michaela pads in a few moments later, swiftly even in the dark, and Laurel thinks that she’s probably been lying awake a while if her eyes are this well-adjusted.

It doesn’t surprise Laurel. Neither of them get a lot of sleep these days.

“I thought you’d left,” Laurel says dumbly, immediately regretting it when she hears Michaela huff.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” she whispers, clearing her throat. “Trouble sleeping?”

“Nothing new.”

“It’s still pretty late,” Michaela points out. Laurel twists to see the alarm clock that tells her they’ve only managed a few hours’ sleep.

Michaela still stands there, looking small with her arms folded, wearing a long-sleeved night shirt of Laurel’s. Her space on Laurel’s bed isn’t as warm as before.

“Do you want to come back to bed?” Laurel asks timidly, thankful she can barely make out Michaela's expression in the dark of the room.

Michaela slips back under the sheets easily, flat on her back. Laurel doesn’t move from her place at Michaela’s side, just watches her blink lazily into the darkness.

There’s something intimate about talking into the dark and lying awake with someone, Laurel thinks. Especially when that someone is Michaela. There's a vulnerability to it, like every thought of hers is on display for Michaela to see.

The warmth of Michaela's hand startles her when it finds hers under the sheets a moment later.

She links their fingers, squeezes, like a reassurance. Like Michaela can hear her thought process from over there.

Laurel brings up their hands, kisses Michaela’s.

Falling asleep comes a little easier.


End file.
